Appendix LINDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSMedia Buyers and Other Vendors Purchasing Goods for the Committee

A Committee that contracts with an agent or an independent contractor to make expenditures on its behalf must disclose the expenditures made to and by the agent or independent contractor as detailed below.

Expenditures by Committee to An Agent or Independent Contractor
The total of each expenditure made by a committee to an agent or independent contractor must be reported on the appropriate schedule of the campaign statement that covers the reporting period in which the expenditure was made. The expenditure is made at the time that the committee agrees to pay or contracts with the agent or independent contractor; rather than the date the invoice is paid.

Expenditures Made by An Agent or Independent Contractor on Behalf of a Committee
In addition to the above, any expenditure made by an agent or independent contractor on behalf of a committee must be disclosed with the campaign statement that covers the reporting period in which the expenditure was made if:

1)the expenditure is one that the committee would have made itself, or

2)the expenditure was made to a subcontractor supplying services to the agent or independent contractor.

To enable committees to meet this disclosure requirement, the Campaign Finance Act, MCL 169.243, requires agents and independent contractors working for a committee to provide the committee with a listing of the expenditures made on the committee’s behalf. Agents and subcontractors are not required to provide an accounting of funds received from a committee that are taken as a profit or used to meet normal operating expenses.

Expenditure listings supplied to a committee by an agent or independent contractor must list the name and address of each individual or business that received more than $50.00 through a single expenditure or through a series of expenditures made by the agent or independent contractor during the campaign statement reporting period, the purpose and amount of each expenditure, and the date each expenditure was made. Single or cumulative expenditures of $50.00 or less made by an agent or independent contractor to an individual or business during the campaign statement reporting period can be shown as a lump sum. The committee may be asked to substantiate the reporting of these expenditures by providing a detailed invoice of the goods or services purchased by the vendor.

If the independent contractor sub-contracts the work to another person, itemization is also required from the sub-contractor to report the names and addresses, dates and amounts for expenditures made by the sub-contractor on behalf of the Committee.